Kraken Maintaining a Pulse With Three Points in Florida
The Stanley Cup playoffs begin in three weeks. There’s an argument to be made that it’s the most exciting postseason in professional sports.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs aren’t just hockey, it’s a controlled detonation of chaos, pain tolerance, and pure will. Every shift feels like it weighs a pound more, every hit echoes through the arena a little more, and every goal is either ecstasy or heartbreak. The margins shrink until the game becomes survival. Legends are carved out in April through June. It’s hockey at its rawest, loudest, most unforgiving, and most beautiful state.
The big question is, will the Seattle Kraken get into that dance?
Kraken’s Jekyll-and-Hyde Play Continues to Plague Seattle
You know that friend or family member that spends several years in college, not knowing what they want to do when they graduate? They declare and undeclare major after major, switching career paths faster that Indiana Jones replacing the idol in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
That is the Seattle Kraken in 2025-2026. They cannot decide if they are playoff team or not. During certain stretches, they look like they can compete with anyone. They get back into a playoff spot and look like they will have postseason hockey in Seattle. Then, out of the blue, they look like a team playing hockey together for the first time in their lives.
Kraken Fall Back Into Bad Habits, Suffer 6-2 Loss to Lightning
It started with Jared McCann.
The Seattle Kraken forward said as much, referring to his turnover to Tampa Bay Lightning forward Gage Concalves on a hit along the boards that ultimately led to the latter giving his side a 1-0 lead just 5:45 into Tuesday’s game at Climate Pledge Arena, but it didn’t end there.
Between Tampa’s relentless forecheck and a couple of crucial mistakes on Seattle’s end, the Lightning stormed to a 3-0 lead. The Kraken managed to cut it to 3-2 midway through the second period, but more mistakes doomed them to a 6-2 loss.
Bottom-Six Propels Kraken to Big Win Over Panthers
After snapping their four-game losing streak with a 5-2 win against the Vancouver Canucks, the Seattle Kraken’s new-look top line and trade deadline acquisition Bobby McMann’s three-point debut stole the show. Less than 24 hours later, it was the Kraken bottom-six that powered Seattle to a back-to-back sweep with a 6-2 win against the Florida Panthers at Climate Pledge Arena on Sunday.
With two goals each from the third- and fourth-line, the Kraken displayed the top-to-bottom production they’ll need if they want to hold down a spot in the Western Conference playoff picture, which they reclaimed after San Jose lost 7-4 to Ottawa on Sunday.
“We need everybody,” Kraken coach Lane Lambert said. “That’s the way it’s going to be, and certainly we need everybody and needed everybody on a second night of a back-to-back with a rested team here waiting for us, and Joey (Daccord) played well right off the start, and then our fourth line stepped up and got us going with some energy … so huge for us, but we’re a four-line hockey team, and that’s what we need out of them.”
Kraken the Ice: How Can Bobby McMann Help Struggling Seattle Squad?
Dropping a fourth straight game, the Kraken once again were undone by what coach Lane Lambert called "mind-boggling" errors in a 5-1 loss to the Avalanche.
Emerald City Spectrum writer Nick Lee dives deep into Seattle's ongoing struggles since returning from the Olympic break, examines how Bobby McMann can help the Kraken right the ship when he finally get his irrigation paperwork cleared, and takes a look at what's on deck as Seattle enters a crucial point in the schedule.
Kraken Waste Crucial Homestand with ‘Mind-Boggling’ Mistakes
The Seattle Kraken arrived back in the Emerald City after dropping the first two games on the road following the Olympic break. Then, Kraken fans perked up as the team rattled off wins against the lowly Canucks and talented Hurricanes.
Things were looking up. The fanbase was rejuvenated. There were still four games left in the longest stretch of consecutive home games on the entire Kraken schedule.
They played three very beatable teams before a date with the top team in the entire NHL, the Colorado Avalanche. Instead of taking advantage of a stretch of winnable games at home, the Kraken dropped all four, failing to take advantage of a prime opportunity.
Kraken Fall Out of Playoff Spot as Skid Continues in 5-1 Loss to Avalanche
The difference between the first and second period was night and day for the Seattle Kraken against the Colorado Avalanche at Climate Pledge Arena on Thursday.
A lethargic effort from Seattle and a three-point period from Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon put the Kraken in a 3-0 hole through 20 minutes, but the home side came out of the gates swinging in the second period.
Despite building up a 10-0 shots on goal advantage through 10:25, Seattle could not manage to get on the board before Adam Larsson committed a tripping penalty to put the Kraken on the penalty kill.
What should have been a momentum killer was the exact opposite. Chandler Stephenson set up Ryker Evans for a short-handed goal, and Seattle was back in business.
For less than four minutes, unfortunately.
Analysis: Breaking Down Where Newly Acquired Bobby McMann Fits with Kraken
Buzzer beaters are certainly more common in basketball than hockey. However, for Seattle Kraken general manager Jason Botterill, he sank one before the proverbial buzzer of the NHL trade deadline, which was at 12 PM PT on Friday.
The shot that sank through the net came after a very quiet deadline day on the trade front in Seattle otherwise, though news broke that the franchise had extended captain Jordan Eberle on Friday morning.
Pulling the trigger shortly before the deadline came and went, Botterill and company swung a deal for Bobby McMann of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who was acquired by Seattle for a 2027 second-rounder and 2026 fourth-round draft pick. They acquired him without parting with any of their three picks in the top 46 of the 2026 NHL Draft.
Kraken GM Jason Botterill Breaks Down McMann Acquisition, State of Team After Trade Deadline
Striking at close to midnight - at least proverbially - the Seattle Kraken acquired Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick right before the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday.
McMann, 29, is a forward on the final season of a two-year contract with a $1.35 million AAV. He has 19 goals and 32 points through 60 games this season, which ranks second-most on Seattle behind captain Jordan Eberle (42 points).
Of course, that production came with superstar Auston Matthews at center. According to Natural Stat Trick, McMann had 238:09 of 5-on-5 ice time on a line with Matthews and Max Domi, the most of any single line combination in Toronto this season.
Jordan Eberle Signs Two-Year Extension With Kraken
The captain is staying aboard.
Just a couple of hours before the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday, the Seattle Kraken agreed to re-sign Jordan Eberle to a two-year, $11 million extension, locking him up through the 2027-28 season.
Kraken Choosing to Sit Idle at NHL Trade Deadline Would Be Massive Blunder
The Seattle Kraken are clinging to a playoff spot. At 29-23-9 (67 points), Seattle owns the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The San Jose Sharks sit at 64 points as their closest competitor behind them in the Wild Card.
The Pacific Division is also not a foregone conclusion. Seattle is just one point behind the third place Edmonton Oilers for that final playoff spot among division leaders.
Seattle’s playoff odds currently sit at 62.7%. Needless to say, the Kraken are smack in contention. There is no reason to think this team can compete for a playoff spot down the stretch. They need to make the necessary moves to get it done.
‘We Were Committed’: Kraken Stick to Game Plan, Earn Massive 2-1 Win vs. Hurricanes
The Seattle Kraken knew exactly what they needed to do when the Carolina Hurricanes rolled into Climate Pledge Arena on Monday.
Entering the game with the second-best record in the NHL, Carolina averaged the second-most shots on goal per game (32) and had totaled the most combined shots on goal plus shot attempts (2,347 Fenwick For).
So it wasn’t a surprise when the Hurricanes outshot Seattle 36-15 by the end of the night. What was a surprise was that the Kraken put more of theirs into the back of the net.
Jordan Eberle, Kraken Right the Ship Against Rival Canucks in 5-1 Victory
The Kraken got off to a slow start following the Olympic break. They dropped back-to-back games on the road to come out of the break, by a combined score of 9-2. After entering the Olympic break in a strong playoff spot, Seattle’s position in the Western Conference looked tenuous out of the gate following the games in Milan.
Luckily for the Kraken, the worst team in the NHL showed up at Climate Pledge Arena, in the Vancouver Canucks.
Kraken Struggle to Shake Bad Habits in 5-1 Loss to Blues
It wasn’t pretty, but it was exactly what the Seattle Kraken wanted.
After allowing three tip-in goals in a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars the night before, the Kraken expressed a desire, a necessity, to throw more pucks on net to create scoring chances for themselves.
“We just need to get pucks towards the net, and get a greasy one,” defenseman Ryker Evans told reporters in Dallas after Wednesday’s game. “We were just trying to make a fancy play or just pass it, and we just need to get it to the net.”
So after Seattle allowed two goals in the first 95 seconds of the second period against the St. Louis Blues to go down 3-1 on Thursday, it appeared Evans followed through when the Kraken needed someone to cut the deficit.
Kraken Stumble Out of Olympic Break With 4-1 Loss to Stars
Coming off the extended Olympic break, the Seattle Kraken managed to put together the kind of start they wanted against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.
Playing physical from the jump, Seattle did not allow a shot on goal from Dallas between 5:21 and 12:40 in the first period, and put together a productive power-play opportunity in that span, albeit without scoring.
However, the Stars picked up the pressure in the final minutes of the first, scoring just 1:19 before the intermission before taking a 2-0 lead 1:43 into the second. Before the second period was half over, the Kraken trailed 4-0 en route to a 4-1 loss.
Kraken Re-Sign Ben Meyers, Ryan Winterton to Extensions
Ben Meyers and Ryan Winterton are sticking around. Coming out of the Olympic break, the Seattle Kraken announced contract extensions for both forwards, each of whom has impressed in bottom-six roles in their first full-time stints with the club this season, in a press release on Tuesday.
Meyers, 27, agreed to a two-year, $2 million contract ($1 million AAV), lasting through the 2027-28 season. After starting the season in the AHL with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Meyers was called up to Seattle for a nine-game stint from Oct. 21-Nov. 13, tallying three assists before being sent back down to Coachella Valley. Following the reassignment, Meyers authored an eight-game point streak (seven goals and four assists) before returning to Seattle on Dec. 10, where he’s played since.
In 31 NHL games this season, Meyers has five goals and 11 points. Since his last recall in December, the Delano, Minn. native has carved out a key role on Seattle’s fourth line, displaying good chemistry and production with Winterton, Tye Kartye and Jacob Melanson.
Analysis: 3 Trade Scenarios for Seattle Kraken Involving Shane Wright
In a playoff spot as of the Olympic break, the Seattle Kraken sit third in the Pacific Division with a record that keeps them competitive in the Western Conference Wild Card race as well. However, their offense ranks towards the bottom in most offensive statistics and to make a real push to be a playoff contender, they need some serious scoring juice.
Trading Shane Wright, the 2022 fourth-overall pick now 22 years old, could be a strategic move to address immediate needs and accelerate the team's contention window with an instant upgrade, though making such a deal with a talented young player carries significant risk.
With the NHL trade deadline looming on March 6, let’s explore three possible trade scenarios that involve Seattle packaging Wright for an upgrade.
Kraken the Ice: Would Trading Shane Wright Be Right Deadline Move for Seattle?
Closing in on their return to action as the Winter Olympic break nears a conclusion, the Kraken could have a massive decision on their hands regarding the future of Shane Wright.
Emerald City Spectrum writer Nick Lee breaks down why Seattle may have interest in moving Wright for the right price, shares his thoughts on what that right price would have to look like in terms of compensation to finalize a deal before the deadline, and recaps the latest exploits by Kraken players on the Olympic ice in Milan.
Kraken Cannot Afford to Squander City’s Momentum Out of Olympics Break
Seattle has some serious momentum right now. Not just the football team, that recently won its second ever Super Bowl title, but the entire city. It’s alive. It’s oozing with team spirit. Just flip on highlights of the parade. Or the Mariners’ playoff run last October. It’s hard to find a better time in history to be a Seattle sports fan. Heck, there is even more chatter about (gasp), the Sonics finally returning.
My question to the Kraken is: are you complacent in being spectators with this momentum? Or are you willing to do what it takes to take advantage of that momentum and turn it into tangible success for the city’s NHL team?
Kraken the Ice: Who Should Seattle Target at Looming NHL Trade Deadline?
In the midst of a winter break for the 2026 Olympics, the Kraken may be doing extensive work behind the scenes trying to find upgrades to aid their playoff push once they return to action later this month.
Emerald City Spectrum writer Nick Lee shares his thoughts on several players who could make sense for Seattle to target before the upcoming deadline, including a former No. 1 overall pick to add star power to the roster for the second half, and recaps how several Kraken players have fared so far in Olympic competition.
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